Lost in Alaska
by Dicsi
Summary: The team is on their way home after a case in Anchorage, Alaska, when tragedy crashes them in the middle of nowhere. Main focus will be Hotch/Prentiss.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my First Criminal Minds story! ****Don't have a beta and English isn't my native language, so if you see any mistakes it will be greatly appreciated to report them to me. Thank you :)  
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**Summary: After a case in Anchorage, Alaska, the team is on their way home when tragedy crashes them in the middle of nowhere. Main focus will be Hotch/Prentiss.**

_**Disclaimer: I don´t own them and never will.. storyline´s mine though :)**_

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"_Mountains inspire awe in any human person who has a soul. They remind us of our frailty, our unimportance, of the briefness of our span upon this earth. They touch the heavens, and sail serenely at an altitude beyond even the imaginings of a mere mortal." _

_**Elizabeth Aston**__, __The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy, 2005_

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**Lost in Alaska**

_Anchorage airport, Alaska - 6.37a.m.  
_There was nothing left for him to say, he could only think about things no one should even be thinking about. Aaron Hotchner stared out of the window of the private airplane his team always used to travel. They had just boarded the plane and were ready to get back home from a case that turned out to be more gruesome than it originally occurred to be.

The team had been called to Alaska, because two families had gone missing. Except for the father/husband of the first and the mother/wife of the second. Both loving and devoted parents, but less loving and devoted to their significant others. They´d had an affair with one another.

For three days the team had been investigating, searching small villages, wooden cottages, forest and even small lakes when they'd found the missing adults. Well.. different parts of the adults. They'd been decapitated. Heads impaled on two different tree branches in the woods. Hotch closed his eyes and swallowed thinking back to the sight of that. He didn't want to think anymore, but his mind didn't seem to want to let go of the image just yet. He shuddered. The bodies had been buried underneath the same tree.

They hadn't given up hope to find the missing children. Two boys and three girls between the ages of 3 and 11 years old. The whole team had pulled all-nighters, getting max. 2 hours of sleep a day. It had seemed to especially affect Prentiss. She'd been pushing herself to the limit to find these children. Alive.

It almost broke him to see her reaction when they didn't. Remembering the look in her eyes when they'd finally found them. Seeing her brown eyes widen and well with moisture as she'd stared the small bodies lying near the lake.

A ruffling sound broke his train of thoughts. Looking to his left he saw Emily Prentiss digging through her purse. Obviously looking for something. She was muttering something to herself.

"Ohh, damnit!"

He leaned a bit forward after her sudden outburst. "Can't find what you're looking for, Prentiss?

She glanced at him for a second before turning to her purse again. "No, well I'm looking for.. Oh, aha got it!" Her hand came out of her bag, holding a pack of chewing gum.

"I always chew some gum when we take off. Don't really like the 'ear popping' feeling, if you know what I mean." She put a couple of gum strips in the palm of her hand. Holding her hand out to him. "Want some?"

He took a strip from her hand. "Thanks". He let the corners of his lips turn upwards a little. She was always thinking ahead, being prepared for what was coming. He watched her turn, handing some to Reid and Morgan as well, before putting the gum in his mouth.

"_Good morning everyone, you all know the drill. Please fasten your seatbelts and we'll be ready for takeoff"._ The pilots voice was coming out of the speakers.

Hotch felt Emily sitting down again after handing out gum to the rest of the team. He fastened his seatbelt and prepared himself for the 10hour flight home. He hardly slept during flights. Even as a kid he never was able to sleep during car rides, but right now he just was so tired. Maybe he even could get some well needed sleep this time. Hotch turned to look out of the window again, watching as the plane ascended.

Little did he know that in 3 hours they would be descending again. And they would be going down, fast.

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_Tbc? Let me know what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Thanks for your reviews everyone! __Honestly, I'm scared to death about what you might think of this, because I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this story yet. Well.. I do a little of course, but still :) Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: Again.. they're not mine, never will be. I'm just using them for fun. _

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The plane had gotten quiet as everyone was minding their own. Emily let her eyes wander around the plane. Glancing sideward she saw Reid asleep on the couch. Laying in fetal position and clutching his pillow tightly. She smiled to herself, he could look like such a small child sometimes. Looking so innocent laying like that.

In seats on the end of the couch sat Morgan with his eyes shut, just drifting in and out of sleep, his headphones covering his ears. Probably listening to some hip-hop song on his Ipod.

JJ sat in the seat across Morgan's oblivious to everything around her. She was sound asleep, curled up in her seat and resting her head against the window. Not the most comfortable position to sleep in, but it would do for the moment.

Seated in the single seat near the plane entrance was Rossi. His mind keeping itself occupied with the book he was reading, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

The only sounds in the plane came from Dave turning the pages of his book and the occasional rustle of someone getting more comfortable in his or her seat. She could hear Hotch's even breathing as well. She turned her head to look at him. He was asleep in the seat next to her, sitting with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His head leaning back against the headboard.

Emily's face softened before closing her eyes and trying to get some sleep herself.

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It wasn´t long until she woke again. Feeling pressure on her ears. That was odd? She slowly sat up a little, stretching her neck to look out the window. She could clearly see trees. The plane was losing altitude fast. Emily noticed Hotch starting to wake as well.

"Hotch, look outside something's wrong".

He straightened himself and looked outside. "This can't be good". Moving to stand he saw Rossi doing the same thing, walking to get to the cockpit.

"Aaron we're descending fast and we're not even halfway through the flight. I'm going to see what the pilot can tell me about this". Dave walked to the door separating the tip of the plane with the passenger's side. Hotch started walking towards him, only to stop again when suddenly a loud noise was heard. Making Reid jump from his place on the couch.

"Everyone stay in your seats and make sure you're secure!" Hotch had raised his voice. They might be in a very serious situation, he had to find out what was going on. He continued his way to the front of the plane.

The pilot second in command was talking to Rossi in a panicky voice. His forehead moist with sweat. Small drops of condense forming on the sides. "All we know is that we are experiencing some engine trouble. The how and what…"

He'd stopped talking. They could all hear the rumbling sound of the engines slowing down. They'd stopped turning. "Oh.. oh Lord".

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Everyone being on high alert, looking at Hotch, waiting for him to start talking. Emily knew immediately things were bad. "We have to prepare ourselves for an emergency landing", he went to take his seat again. "The engines aren't working anymore", he grabbed his seatbelt, "the pilot said we have enough speed to keep us in the air long enough to land. Unless they find an open area, we won't go down pretty with all the forest."

"Do they know what caused the engine failure?" Morgan wanted to know the better of it. Subconsciously trying to find a way to control the situation.

"They don't".

The plane tipped slightly to the front and started to descend rapidly. "Hold on!"

Everyone sat tight in their seats. Grabbing firm hold of her armrests, Emily closed her eyes, mentally preparing for what was coming. She felt Hotch's hand next to hers. His moving to cover hers, keeping a firm hold. Offering both support and comfort to her, but also for himself. She was scared.

Hotch had thought they would at least have ten minutes before they would be going down. Sooner than he expected to, but who would ever expect something like this would happen. All he could do was sit tight and wait for what they all knew was coming.

When the blackness came, he just let it take him away.

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_AN2: For you who__ haven't noticed yet, Garcia isn't on the plane. Just sayin' ;)  
Also, I can't seem to get the chapters as long as I want them to._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks again for reviewing! It really keeps me going. I try to write a new chapter for this story every moment I have spare time (which I sadly don't really happen to have much lately). __I can't promise anything, but I'm doing my best to keep updates coming on a regular basis!_

_Hope you'll enjoy this chapter! _

_Disclaimer: and again.. don't own them, just borrowing!_

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Hotch had started coughing, he was having trouble breathing. He tried moving, but soon found he was stuck. Ignoring the loud beep in his ears he opened his eyes and couldn´t see clearly. Dust and smoke clouded the small area of the plane. From what he was feeling it was slightly colder than it had been before. He tried sitting up a little looking for a source. The cool air had to come from somewhere. What he could see through the dust shocked him. There was a gap in the side of the plane. Slightly in the upper area, near the cockpit. Furthering his gaze he noticed the cockpit being shattered completely. It was hanging loose from the rest of the plane. Though being still half attached to the passengers area. The impact of the plane hitting the surface of the earth had probably broke it.

Slowly coming to his senses, reality came crashing in fully. His team. Were they okay? Last thing he remembered was Prentiss sitting next to him. He'd seen the anxiety on her face, remembered the feeling of his hand gripping hers tightly vividly. His hand wasn't holding anything at the moment. He moved his hand to where he knew she'd last been sitting. Oh he was sore, he could feel the bruising from where his seatbelt had held him through the impact. His head hurt as well, but it didn't matter right now. He was fine, being alive enough to know at the moment. To move around more freely he quickly undid his belt. His hand found its way to her arm.

_Please be OK_.

From what the plane looked like, it would be a miracle if everyone made it out unharmed. He could only hope for minor injuries.

Listening for signs of life he heard some silent coughing coming from the left side of the plane. He felt relief, a good sign. He would go check it out later, one step at a time. Next to him he heard ragged breathing. Moving to her side to get a closer look, he could make out her form next to him. She was slumped in her chair. Head hanging to the side. Chest moving slowly. She was breathing. _Good. _Relief flooding over him again. In a situation like this every small positive detail he found felt like victory.

He hovered over her, grabbing hold of both her arms gently. Hotch let his eyes search for injuries. He carefully examined her face. There were some small cuts on the right side of her head. Looking over to her left there was a slightly larger gash on her forehead. Caused by something flying around probably. There'd been a lot of stuff on the plane before they crashed, which he could only imagine flying everywhere in the crash. Excluding all the debris that was also lying everywhere now after they crashed.

He coughed again. Moving his hand in a fist to cover his mouth. The dust was really irritating his lungs. The beep in his ears was already lessening.

"Hotch!" Morgan was standing somewhere more near the front of the plane. A place very close to where the gap was. Rossi had been seated near the front.

"Morgan, are you alright?" He looked over to where his voice was coming from.

"Yeah, yeah, you?" Stepping over some debris Hotch tried to get closer to him.

"I'm okay. The rest?"

"Reid is still unconscious. I looked him over and he took a pretty nasty blow to his leg."

JJ's voice was heard "I'm fine as well"

"Rossi?" Hotch asked.

"Over here", came a very faint reply.

"What about Emily?" JJ wondered.

"She has a nasty cut on her forehead, but other than that she seemed fine".

"The pilots?"

"I called out to them, they didn't answer me."

JJ slowly got out of her seat. "I'm going to check on them".

"Dave, you alright?" Morgan was standing by Rossi's side. Dave closed his eyes slightly. It was obvious he was in pain. Seated closest to the cockpit he had taken quite the blow from the impact. "Hotch, I'm going to need your help over here!"

Taking careful steps he arrived to where Derek was standing. "Dave?"

Dave was lying on the floor close to where his seat ones was. "My stomach", Rossi was clutching to his stomach. His hands red of blood, a big stain forming on his shirt.

Morgan moved his hands to take a closer look. He muttered to himself "This is not looking good". He carefully tried to move Rossi when he screamed out in pain. "Aaaaaah"

Morgan saw a big chunk of debris sticking into Dave's back.

"Alright, alright, Dave look at me. You've been impaled by a sharp piece of debris. We have to roll you over to see how bad it is okay".

Rossi closed his eyes again, his face showing a pained expression "Do what you have to do".

Morgan looked at Hotch. "Okay. On the count of three. One, two, three!" They rolled him onto his stomach. Rossi moaned in discomfort during the process.

Hotch had an unreadable expression on his face. His voice serious "Morgan, we need to get it out".

"Dave", he continued, "This is going to hurt." He looked at Morgan again. "Derek we need to put something in his mouth to keep him from gritting his teeth to tightly".

Morgan was already taking of his leather belt "We can use this". He looked around. "There's a first aid kit on board right?" He started searching for the box. They needed to use it desperately. It had to be somewhere near the fire extinguisher, but Morgan couldn't find it.

"Hotch it probably got lost when the gap was formed", he pointed to the place that was ones solid.

The two men turned their heads when JJ returned. "Guys, the pilots both didn't make it"

Hotch looked down, Morgan cursed "Damn.."

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In the meantime Emily was regaining consciousness. Her head hurt like hell. And something was smelling really bad. A muff, burning smell entered her nostrils. She undid her seatbelt and started to move towards the window. Moving her hand over the glass to clean it a little, she looked outside. A couple of meters away from the body of the plane was one of the wings. The engine was covered in black. Nearby trees were all down, leaving a damaging trail of nature at the crash site.

Then a pained scream caught her attention.

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Rossi had lost consciousness after Hotch and Morgan had pulled the debris out. "We have to stop the bleeding!" Morgan took of his sweatshirt to use his undershirt to press on the wound.

Emily walked over to them. "Is he alright?"

Hotch looked at her, "It's not looking to good. We're trying to stop the bleeding and that's all we can do for now".

His look turned concerned, eyebrows knitting together. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, but it's nothing to worry about". She touched the place where the cut was on her head. Wincing involuntarily at the touch. When she took her hand back again, her fingertips were a little bloody. She chose to ignore it.

"We're lucky to be alive".

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	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing again! Regarding the last two episodes of this season I thought it would be interesting to see Hotch caring for Emily__ instead of the other way around. So I put those ingredients in the mix of this story. Read to find out, hope you'll enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: Not mine… just using them for the sake of entertainment, sort of. _

_ps: Reid's leg being injured in this story was just a coincidence, just happens to be that way in here as well as in the show atm. :)  
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Morgan and JJ were taking care of a still unconscious Dave. They had gotten him to lay on his back. Emily was tending to Reid, who had woken up also and was in pain. Cold puffs of air leaving her mouth as she concentrated doing her task. His leg had taken quite the blow and he couldn´t stand on it without someone supporting him. Emily was trying to get his leg in to a make-shift cast made out of pieces of fabric and a long solid piece of debris. The latter doing its work as a somewhat creative splint. The cast offering little support, but it was the best she could do for now.

"There", Emily patted Reid on the shoulder, "That's done, can you try to stand up?"

She offered the young doctor her hand and he took it, his face crunching a little in discomfort. A burning pain went through his lower leg and his knee especially really hurt bad. It felt like it had been twisted and he knew for sure his lower leg was broken.

"Thanks". He gave her a small smile. "but I ah, I think I'm going to remain seated for now". He ungraciously moved to sit down again.

Emily nodded empathically "I'm going to see if I can find the medical aid kit somewhere, find some painkillers".

"Good luck".

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He looked around him. Trees. Everywhere. _Great._ No sign of civilization whatsoever. Though he couldn't deny it truly was beautiful out here. Mountain tops white with snow in the distance. A blue clear sky and lots of green trees around them. He breathed in the fresh air. He noticed It smelled like pine trees when the cold air filled his lungs. Very cold air. It certainly was freezing out here.

Alaska is no tropical paradise, so they had been prepared to dress warmly. Though neither of them had expected to be out in the wilderness like this. He shivered, rubbing his arms to warm himself before turning to look at the jet. His muscles still ached from the crash. Looking at the state the plane was in reminded him of that.

Hotch´s look turned worried when he saw Emily start to get of the plane. She carefully moved her feet to start descending. Unfortunately losing her footing, causing her to stumble down.

She shrieked.

Hotch was by her side in an instant. Too late to prevent her from falling, but just on time to prevent her from going face flat on the ground. His arm was firm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He looked her straight in the eye. On different circumstances Emily would have felt a little intimated by the look in his eyes.

She shifted regaining her composure. Looking down "Yeah, yeah I'm fine".

She knew he wouldn't buy that. Having felt his eyes on her before, knowing he was watching her well-being. Truth be told, she was feeling a little woozy. Her head had starting to throb again and that sure didn't make the dizziness go away.

He still looked at her intently. His arm tightening a little around her, before pulling away, giving her some space.

"Don't lie to me Emily".

She shifted her eyes towards his, only to quickly avert them again after a short moment. The use of her first name hadn't gone unnoticed by her. He'd only rarely used her first name. Most of those occasions being pretty intense. She remembered the time she'd walked into his office. Soaked, shaken, telling him about her probably murdered friend.

He'd called her Emily back then.

But she couldn't be Emily right now. Right now she had to be Prentiss. The strong, objective FBI agent. SSA Prentiss. Not Emily, the more human one. At the moment she didn't know if she could hold herself together being Emily.

Agent Prentiss it was. "I'll be fine in a minute" She spat out. Not expecting her voice to turn this sharp in her mind.

Emily was mentally debating whether to slap herself or not . He was only making sure she was okay. Being compassionate and worried and she just pushed him away.

Hotch just stood in front of her. Not saying anything, just waiting for another reaction.

Finally Emily spoke. "I'm sorry Hotch, but really.. I'll be okay. It's just that my head hurts and I feel a little dizzy. Probably a minor concussion, but I'll live. It's not like I haven't lived through something like this before." She chuckled a little at the last sentence.

He nodded, giving in. If she was going to be stubborn, he would let her for now. Also knowing she was right with her last statement. Letting her win this one over.

"Alright, fair enough." But he couldn't help himself by telling her not to push herself too much. She just smiled sadly at that.

"Oh and if it makes you happy I was going to look for the Medical Aid Kit by the way."

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Reid was asleep. The pain medication had done its work. He'd felt ten times better after taking one of the pills and had fallen asleep soon after. His injured leg being stretched out on the seat in front of him.

The couch had been cleaned for Dave to lay on. One of the thicker blankets covering him to keep the cold away. Dave had been conscious for a little while, being very grateful for the painkillers. After taking some he fell into a dreamless sleep. He even was softly snoring. Not an uncommon thing for him to do while asleep. Though he would never admit it himself, he always denied strongly, Dave was a snorer. The team had caught up on it on multiple occasions. JJ had even complained about it ones when she'd slept in a hotelroom next to his. The poor thing had been up all night because of the noises she'd heard through the thin walls. Now she always made sure Dave had one of the outer rooms and also secretly not placing her room next to his as well.

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_AN2: Sorry to stop here guys, I really have to go to bed right now, but also really wanted to update this__ and not let you wait much longer.. I already know how I'm going to continue this, just haven't written it down yet. So more to come soon! _

_And.. let me know what you think! It really is very much appreciated!  
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	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: __Took me a little longer to update than I expected. Last week I've been pretty busy and haven't found the time to write much.. but now I may finally present you with the latest chapter! Thanks again all my lovely reviewers :) Hope you'll enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Don't own them, again still borrowing them for the sake of this story. Without them the foundation would fall away ;)_

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Emily was cold. Freezing actually. Damn, she wished she was home and laying comfortable in her own bed. Not stuck in a small, dirty, cold – and most of all broken - airplane. She was grateful for the sweatshirt and jacket she was wearing, keeping her somewhat warm. But still, that and the thin blanket she was under didn't do their work with temperatures like these. It would drop even lower, considering it wasn't midnight just yet.

The fact that no one on the team had phone reception wasn't of much help to get them out of there. They'd all tried their phones and all came up with no signal. Emily shifted on the narrow seat she was laying on. Stretching out her cramped legs. A nice bed would definitely be something she desired at the moment, if only for the room her legs would have. No scratch that; _anything_ with more leg space than the space her legs had now would do. She let out an audible sigh. Too dark at the moment to see, but with more light there would have been small clouds making the sigh visible as well.

Deciding she wasn't able to sleep after all she moved to sit up. Emily had – at Hotch's insistence - tried to catch some sleep for the last hour or so. After the little incident outside the plane she noticed that he was keeping a closer eye on her. She could sense him looking at her every now and then. Although she wouldn't admit it to him or anyone else, she secretly felt touched that he cared about her wellbeing that much. Maybe it even made her feel more than just touched, but that's something she couldn't admit to just yet either. Not at this very moment anyways.

Standing up with the blanket around her she went to stretch her legs. She knew she was perfectly capable to take care of herself. She had been doing so for the last twenty-five years, but someone to look out for you wasn't bad either. Even if the person doing so was your supervisor and had only been showing it to you just recently.

She shivered.

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"Em", a soft female voice broke her out of her thoughts. She looked down and saw JJ looking up at her from where she was seated.

"Couldn't sleep either huh? Cold?"

"Yeah" she replied, shivering again.

They both looked up when they heard husked voices coming from the cockpit. The two women heard Morgan's voice very clearly, though in a whispered tone.

"No Hotch, I don't think we should do that already. It's too soon."

Hotch's reply was barely audible to them.

Emily and JJ took a puzzled glance at each other. JJ was whispering, not daring to speak too loud.

"What is he talking about?"

"I don't know."

Morgan's voice started to get more clear now.

"No, we shouldn't burry them here just yet! That means giving up hope to return them to their families at home and also giving up hope for us to be found!"

Hotch had started to speak up a little. "I know that, but these men at least deserve a little dignity. We can't leave them sitting up here."

JJ and Emily heard some shuffling and after a beat Morgan came through the door, back first. He was carrying one of the pilots, arms under the dead man's armpits. Hotch was holding on to the man's legs, carrying the pilot outside.

JJ's eyes widened. Though she'd seen the pilots dead body before, it still was a shocking sight to see the lifeless, broken body again.

Emily's eyes met Hotch's in the process, a knowing look shared between them. Knowing how awful it was that the two pilots hadn't survived the crash. Leaving their families behind. And the saddest thing was that the wives and children didn't even know they'd lost a husband and father yet. Probably still waiting for them at home to return from a long weeks work. Not knowing about the disaster that had struck them. The disaster that would change their lives forever.

Emily knew she had to be grateful to be alive. That everyone on the team was still there. It could've easily been one of them that Hotch and Morgan were carrying outside.

A chill went through her body again and this time not just from the cold.

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After moving the second body outside Hotch and Morgan went up to Emily and JJ.

Hotch crossed his arms before talking. "There's a radio in the cockpit."

Both women's eyes lit up at the statement. "Unfortunately it broke in the crash, but we could try to repair it. See if we can undo some of the damage."

Emily pulled the blanket a little tighter around her and turned to look at JJ. "Let's see what we can do to fix it".

"Shall I wake Reid? He might know a thing or two about.."

Derek interrupted JJ before she could finish her sentence. "No, we should let the kid sleep a little more. He needs it."

The four of them walked over to the shattered front of the plane.

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TBC..

A/N: Alright.. this is it for now, let me know what you think! More will come as soon as I have time to write! ;)


	6. Chapter 6

_AN:__ Hee guys! Thanks to everyone who left a review__. This chapter took me a bit longer to think out. I had a little 'inspiration problem' and didn't know exactly how to continue this chapter. I decided to just go with what came to mind and this is what I came up with. Longest chapter I've ever written btw ;) So I hope you like it and I would really really really appreciate if you let me know what you think! I'm still progressing my writing skills and my native language is not English. Not writing in a native language is always different than writing in your own language. It's not 'your own' that much so to say. I hope what I write comes across okay and has a right flow to it! _

_This was me rambling for now so.. ENJOY!_

_Ohyeah and I don't own t__hem. just having fun. _

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"Hey Morgan come take a look at this!" JJ was waving him over excitedly. She was standing near a large bush. The team had spend the night inside the crashed plane. Neither of them had slept well because of the cold, but at least they didn't have to sleep outside on the even colder ground.

This morning everyone had emptied their bags to see what kind of supplies and how much food they had already. They had found a couple of boxes with coffee powder and teabags from the small coffee cabinet on the plane. It turned out everyone but Rossi and Hotch had brought small snacks with them. Reid being the one with half a bag of candy. The muesli bars came from Emily and the vanilla cookies were JJ´s. Morgan had brought some chocolate. Of course there also was Emily's chewing gum, but as far as nutrition went that surely wouldn´t do. They didn't know how long they would be stuck here and definitely needed more food for the six of them.

They'd gone outside. Reid staying with Rossi on the plane for obvious reasons. The rest had went to search for anything eatable nature had to offer.

Paired into two groups they went exploring. First not going too far from the plane, getting to know their environment first. Not finding much at such a close range, they later dared to explore further. JJ was walking in front of Morgan when she discovered a blackberry bush. It hadn't had much blackberries on it anymore, because of the seasons ending. But it still provided for two small hands of berries.

She picked a few and held them out to Morgan. "Blackberries!"

"Nice find Jayj!" He took one from her hand, holding it between his fingers before popping it in his mouth. Being mindful of the thorns he started picking some himself.

The bush hadn't had much blackberries on it anymore, because of the seasons ending, but it still provided them with two small hands of berries.

JJ was stuffing the berries into the pockets of her warm jacket. A bit too much of them at ones, causing some of the berries to fall out of her hands. She went to pick them up from the ground.

Morgan glanced down at her. "You have enough room to stock them so we can explore further?"

JJ moved to stand up straight again, putting the fallen berries into her pocket again. She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I think I can manage some more".

Derek briefly placed his hand on her shoulder, guiding them into step again.

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Reid was tapping his fingers unconsciously on the table in front of him. Derek had let him borrow his, still intact, mp3 player and he was listening to some song called _'Day 'n Nite'_. He didn't know the artist, but the song certainly had a nice beat to it.

Unfortunately for Dave.

He had been asleep before and the tapping sound had woken him.

"Reid"

The tapping continued. Dave could hear the base coming from the small headphones.

"Reid!", he tried again raising his voice. The older man certainly was not amused. This time his attempt to get Spencer's attention had the desired effect.

The younger agent would have jumped if his leg wouldn't have been injured. He reached to his ears to move the headphones.

"What?" he said unaware what had had caused the other agent's irritation.

"Stop tapping your fingers on the table!"

"Wha..?" he started.

"Yes, you're doing it again Spencer", the tapping had become a habit of his. In the bureau, on the plane, in the car. Everywhere he seemed to be using his fingers as drumsticks the last couple of months.

"Sorry" he said apologetically. "It's not that I'm actually aware of doing it. It's become a nervous tick of some sorts. You know when listening to music or dealing with stress it really relieves some unconscious tension. It has the same mannerism as petting a cat or doing breathing exercises. It helps lowering ones blood pressure. Thirty-four percent of the population seemingly.."

Dave cut him off with a warning look. "Okay, it's okay Spence". His features softened. "We're all dealing with tension here. The situation we're in..", he shifted a little from the couch, wincing in the process. "This isn't exactly an all-day situation and we're all trying to deal with it the best way possible. In our own ways, but if you could just try and focus on NOT tapping your fingers for a moment".

Reid wanted to say something about him snoring, but decided it would be better not to. He looked down at the mp3 player to turn it off. At that same moment Morgan and JJ walked back in.

"It started snowing so we figured it might be safer to return here", JJ said while brushing some of the fallen snowflakes of her shoulder.

"But look what we've found", Morgan continued grinning widely.

"Nice!" Reid said after seeing the stash of berries they found.

"Yeah, those are probably some of the last berries this season and we can't live on fruit and candy alone so we have find different ways to get our food. But this will do for now".

JJ was checking if she'd completely emptied her pockets and fished two stray berries out. She looked at Dave before she spoke. "I'm curious to see what Hotch and Emily have found. They're not back yet?"

"No, not yet".

Morgan took of the hood he was wearing, loosening his scarf a little to get more comfortable. "Have you made any progress on the radio?"

Looking in the direction of the cockpit Reid answered. "No, not really. I couldn't get it working yet. Different parts are broken and need to be fixed first, but I wasn't able to find the tools to do so".

"I'm going to see if I can find some", that said Morgan went searching.

-----

_Meanwhile.._

_-----_

Hotch and Emily had started walking through thick forest. The forest had thinned out the further they walked and they eventually reached a more open area.

With her boss walking a couple of meters in front of her and taking the lead, Emily was scanning the area and admiring the beauty of nature. She could hear the rustling of leaves and chirping birds. She stood still to look up at the trees. The sky was grey with clouds. It wouldn´t be long before snow would start to fall again.

"Prentiss!" she heard Hotch yell. Turning to look at him she started walking a bit faster to catch up.

"Look", following his gaze a wide river came in sight.

They both stood still, taking in with they saw.

"Wow". Hotch looked at Emily and smiled at her expression. Her mouth was hanging open, eyes wide, just staring at the roaring water in front of them. The river wasn´t all that deep. It had some big rocks sticking out on the surface, but it was deep enough to not get to the other side. If they even wanted to cross the river that was. And with these temperatures taking a swim in ice water wasn´t something on top of their wish list.

At that same moment snow started to fall down. It would have been the perfect Kodak moment. Hotch surely would want to have a picture of this. Of Emily.

Her cheeks had a little red blush, because of the cold. She still had that cut on her forehead, but she looked.. cute Hotch thought. He couldn´t help himself thinking about her like that. The tip of her nose was pink and her dark eyes held a bright sparkle. They had grown more familiar with each other during the last couple of months. He had paired them up more. They talked more. And not just about work.

She turned to look at him her expression slightly changing. Questioning. He realized he might have a stupid look on his face and quickly pulled himself together again. He really shouldn't be thinking about his subordinate like this.

Snow was coming down harder and harder. The weather was changing fast. "We better start heading back to the plane, before the weather turns on us completely".

Hotch nodded "Yeah let's head back. The river had been a good find. Could mean fish if we're lucky enough to catch some. Looking at the trees here it's probably easy to make a fishing pole."

She looked at him surprised. "You know how to fish?"

He looked at her self-consciously, but confident. "Yeah, used to go out fishing a lot with my brother when I was a kid".

Behind the stoic mask he usually had on was a man full of surprises Emily thought. Feeling the cold wind through the thick fabric of her coat, she pulled it tighter around her. It was slightly colder here at the riverside. The open space leaving the cold and wind more free to go everywhere. Whereas the trees provided more shelter and held more warmth. As far as there was warmth that was.

With one last glance at the river they turned and started walking back in a comfortable silence.

-------

_Back at the plane.._

_-------_

"They're still not back yet?" JJ asked but already knew the answer. She was starting to get worried. Looking outside the weather had changed for the worse. Where snow had been falling softly before, it now had turned into a snowstorm. Hearing the wind doing a melodic whistle around the plane was also a result of that.

Rossi shook his head.

JJ sighed "I just hope they're alright".

* * *

_AN: Will they get back OK..? P__lease let me know what you think!_


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: __A special thank you goes to Sarramaks who gave me some advise on a problem I had writing this. Also thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Ohyeah and I now officially declare this the longest chapter I've ever written! ;) Lol I've been sick at home with too much time on my hands. I hope you like this chapter. Garcia's making her first appearance here and there is some big H/P stuff going on! Enjoy and please let me know what you think! _

_Disclaimer: __They're still not mine. I do not own them. Still just using them. Etc. etc. etc. _

_

* * *

  
_

It was 9.30am when she got to the office. Putting the cup of coffee she was carrying on her desk, she turned on her computer. Looking at the colorful desktop picture that welcomed her Garcia smiled. The picture on the screen was one of the team. Taken one night after work when they were having drinks at the office. Nothing too fancy, just a couple of drinks after a hard weeks work down at the bullpen. She remembered that evening well. When midst of a telling story, Reid had clumsily spilled his drink all over his shirt. Everyone had burst out laughing at that, including Reid himself. The result being a picture with genuinely smiling faces.

Although she rarely traveled with the team to crime scenes, she never felt left out. Her honeys called her often to check in with her. Not only when they needed her knowledge or help. This last case had been a hard one to crack. Cases involving children were always the hardest. She'd done her best to find all the background information there was. It'd been all she could do. When she heard it had been too late.. that the children hadn't made it.. She shuddered thinking back, trying to block it out again she looked at some of her colorful belonging on her desk.

After rearranging some of the items she stood up again and grabbed her coffee. Walking down to the bullpen she decided she could greet the team. That plus she needed to grab some files anyway.

----

When she opened the door to the bullpen the first thing she noticed was the quietness. There were some other agents their working at their desks. But those were not the faces she was looking for. Seeing empty desks at where her friends were supposed to be sitting. She walked the short distance to Hotch's office.

No one there.

After checking the conference room and finding it empty, she started to get suspicious. They were supposed to be back already. Their flight had been scheduled to land around 10.00pm last night. This was just odd Garcia thought.

Walking back into the bullpen she stopped at one of the working agents desks.

"Hey. Quick question, have you seen Agent Hotchners team back yet?"

The young man looked up from his work and thought for a second before answering. "No, I haven't seen them in yet".

"Okay, thanks".

* * *

_At the plane.._

_--__--_

"It has been two hours and they're still not back yet. We should do something". JJ said looking extremely worried.

Morgan hadn't been able to find any tools to repair the radio with yet. He was slightly on edge. Feeling useless just sitting around. "I'm going out there to look for them", he said.

Rossi looked up. "What are you insane? Have you looked outside? You're going to get yourself killed getting out there!"

"I can't just sit around here doing nothing". He hated the way he was feeling. Feeling like he was trapped, not knowing how his friends were. Always the guy who needed action. He needed to at least do something. The situation wasn't getting any better stranded out here in the middle of nowhere.

"Derek, it's stupid to go out there. It's a large forest, you don't know where they are. For all that we know they might be safe somewhere. They know how to handle themselves".

He sighed. "I just hate feeling like this".

"We all do".

* * *

_Back at Quantico.._

_----_

"So you're telling me no plane was registered to be flying in last night?! That's not possible! A plane from the BAU department should have landed last night. Hmhm.. yeah.. alright maybe they'll know more, thanks". Annoyed she hung up the phone.

Administration mix up her ass! This was sooo screwed up. Garcia had tried everyone's cell phone. All had went straight to voicemail. She'd called the airport at Quantico to see if the plane had actually arrived just to hear no plane was scheduled to be flying in that night.

Calling the Alaskan airport she found out that the jet had indeed taken off last morning half past six sharp. A communication problem probably having caused the mix up at the Virginian airport. But still, fact was that the plane hadn't landed and had mysteriously disappeared.

She was concerned for her friends and needed to know the better of this. Garcia's internal radar sensed something was wrong, she could feel the alarm bells going off in her stomach. The wrong kind of butterflies fluttering around there, forming a tight knot. This whole situation didn't feel right to her at all. Determent she started hacking the airports computer to see if she could find out more about the flight.

* * *

_Somewhere in the woods.._

_----_

They had been walking for about an hour since they left the riverside. Walking together now, huddled closer. Trying to shield their faces with their arms and heads down as far as they could get them in their coats. The icy wind blowing hard against them, making it difficult to move forward. Their sight narrowed because of the snow that was now falling to the ground hard. It was really hard to see and the snow felt like small sharp knives against the skin their arms couldn't protect.

Emily turned to face Hotch. "How are we supposed to know if we're going the right way? We can't see anything!" Emily yelled to make herself hearable over the storm. She braced herself against the wind to keep standing, but it was hard to do so.

Her muscles were stiff and sore because of the cold. The usually simple movement called walking had started to get harder and harder by the minute. She didn't know how much longer she was going to keep this up. Emily wasn't sure how long Hotch was going to either.

Hotch took a step towards her grabbing her right arm to keep them both a bit more steady. The closeness also making it easier to hear each other. "You're right! Let's see if we can find some shelter!"

Emily nodded but it was barely noticeable. Her hood was doing a good job hiding any movements her head made.

Hotch moved his hand from her arm towards her hand. The gesture would have been awkward under normal circumstances. Now he just didn´t care at all. It was more practical this way, him pulling her along. They both were wearing gloves, but they were drenched because of the snow. His hand felt like it had been used as a pins and needles cushion, but he refused himself to let go of her hand.

He felt her tightening her grasp.

--

She was tired. Emily had no idea for how long they had been going. It felt like they´d been walking again for hours, but in fact it was only 20 minutes until they saw something that relieved them both.

A small cabin.

She felt her legs buckle underneath her. Falling to her knees in the snow, relief spreading her face. "Thank God" she whispered. Feeling Hotch pull her up again they quickly made it to the front door.

An old rusty chain was hanging against the door handle, but it wasn't locked. The door cracked when they opened it.

The wooden cabin was really small. A single bed standing in one corner. A small table with an oil lamp next to it. A dusty mirror with a shaving knife spread out along with other small objects. No chairs.

It looked like the cabin hadn't been used in a while.

Next to the door stood an old stove and on the wall hung a hunters rifle. That was as far as decoration went.

Emily was the first to speak. "Looks like we found an old hunters cabin". She managed to put a small smile on her face.

Hotch pulled his hood down and took off his gloves. His lips were blue. Bringing his hands up to his face he started rubbing his cheeks to get the blood flowing again. He looked at the old stove. It could warm the place up a little. The wooden cabin provided shelter for the raging storm, but it didn't keep the cold out.

They were both cold and wet. His pants were clinging uncomfortable to his legs and his coat was soaked. He started looking for matches or anything else he could use to start a fire with.

Emily was shivering violently. Looking at Hotch search the tiny space she started rubbing her hands and blowing on them in an attempt to get warm. Small puffs of air were coming from his mouth, she noticed.

She moved to sit on the bed. As everything else in the cabin, the bed was small and dusty. Designed with enough room for one person to sleep comfortably. It had thick sheets covering a thin mattress. She could feel the bedsprings through where she was sitting. No one had slept here for a while she guessed. Not really wanting to know what kind of man had been sleeping here in the wilderness, all by himself. Ugh.

Taking the upper sheet she tried to get some of the dust off.

"Aah found some", she heard Hotch mutter. He was holding a box of matches, clumsily trying to get one of the matches out. His hands were numb, making it hard to coordinate his fingers.

After a couple of tries he finally got the stove to work. The small flames providing little warmth.

"We should try to get warm", he said turning to look at her.

Emily put the sheet back on the bed. After they'd both got out of their coats and had hung them to dry they looked at the bed.

"One bed".

"So I see", came his reply.

She started shivering again.

"It's not a bad thing. We'll be warmer that way", he said shivering as well.

Although it wasn't actually said out loud they both knew he was talking about the elephant in the room. Sleeping next to each other in such a small bed. They'd never touched each other much and now they had to sleep together. To keep warm that was. It almost felt like a bad movie where the two lead characters had to sleep close to share body heat. Awkward.

And intimate.

But they had no other choice.

Emily sat down on the bed. Bending down to first untie her shoes and then to get out of her wet pants. Before she undid her pants she looked up at Hotch.

"Maybe.. would you ehm?"

He coughed awkwardly before turning around. "I won't look".

"Okay".

She thanked him inwardly for the gentleman he always was. Just wearing the shirt she was wearing underneath her sweater, she slipped under the covers. The shirt was a little moist, but only wearing a bra now wouldn't be to tactile she thought. She turned her head towards the wall, still shivering.

After hearing Hotch getting undressed she felt him slip in beside her. His skin felt clammy against hers. He was lying with his chest against her back. Carefully spooning against her from behind. Hesitant at first, not knowing where to put his arms. After a couple of seconds she could feel him moving again. Now feeling him putting his strong arms around her. Hugging her close for the first time ever. It felt strangely comforting.

They laid silent like that for a moment. Feeling the shivering of their bodies subside.

"Are you okay", he whispered after a while. His mouth close to her ear.

She nodded answering in a soft voice. "Yeah, you?".

She felt him placing his head closer to hers. "Hmhm".

Tangling her legs between his she felt him tightening his hold on her. His hand slowly rubbing her arm in a soft caress. The awkwardness from before forgotten as they felt themselves getting even warmer. The temperature under the blankets rising.

It felt strangely good lying there together. Too good. The bed felt like it was their own little safe haven. They could still hear the storm outside. The wind letting the wooden cabin make small noises.

Hotch was having a hard time keeping his feelings at bay. He knew he'd been attracted to her for quite some time now, but never had admitted it to himself. He couldn't do that. Too much at risk. But being here with her, far away from everything at work, at home. It was so much more tempting to let those feelings come to the surface.

"Hotch?" he heard her say.

"Yes?"

"Goodnight"

"Goodnight Emily"

* * *

_An: I'm very curious to know what you thought of this chapter! __Reviews are appreciated, it helps me improve my writing. :)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks everyone who reviewed last chapter! My muse has been in a mayor coma this month, but has awoken again now so here I present you with a new chapter! I know it's been long, but I hope you're still reading this and will bear with me. ;)_

_This chapter is more about the cabin-scene with Hotch and Prentiss than anything else. _

_Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: As always; I do not own them!_

_

* * *

  
_

She never favored a season. They all had their own charms. The heat of summer, the coldness of winter, the wetness that autumn brought along. She had some awesome memories when she was in Paris ones, because of her mother's postings. Spending a month in that city had really enlightened her. Standing on top of the Eiffel tower on a hot day, feeling the cold breeze in her hair and looking over the whole city. Yeah, those were nice memories.  
She would love it to be spring at the moment. A time where it was still a little cold outside, but where you could feel the warmth of the sun on your face. She loved that combination, having a little of both. It reminded her of those times in Paris.

What time it was right now she didn't know. Her back felt slightly warmer than before and it smelled muff around her. Muff and nice somehow. The tip of her nose felt like ice though and she could tell that she had been asleep for some time by the problem her eyes had opening. Finally opening her eyes she was greeted by an impeccable darkness. Blinking rapidly for a second her eyes adjusted to the dark. Emily was lying with her face to a wall. She didn't remember sleeping though. The whole situation had her sense of time completely mixed up.

Hearing an intake of breath behind her and feeling a pair of arms holding her a bit tighter she smiled. She was enjoying this feeling way too much. Laying in bed with someone who's technically your boss shouldn't be this right. According to the bureau it certainly wouldn't be. But these were different circumstances. There were no sexual reasons involved that had them in this position in the first place. Having no other choice it was the best thing to do in this situation.

She sighed, it certainly was.

They were lucky to have even found a place to stay the night. She couldn't imagine what it would be like sleeping out in the open with a storm like that.

She could still hear the wind outside and shivered a little, glad to be inside.

Looking at Hotch's arms she softly patted his hand. They felt nice and warm against her stomach. Emily was actually relieved that he was here with her. He made her feel slightly safer when being near her. The way he was looking out for her the way he did recently. It made her feel.. cared for.  
There. She was able to admit that to herself. Normally Emily Prentiss wasn't one to like being cared for.

According to his steady, regular breathing she decided he must be asleep. Her hand started to move on its own accord and started to softly caress the arm holding her. She noticed Goosebumps forming on his skin and felt him sigh more than hearing it.

Emily stiffened when she felt him move his head, the tip of his nose brushing her skin.

Suddenly she wasn't so sure that he was asleep anymore

Abruptly stilling her hand on his arm. Her breath was stuck in her throat, nerves jumping up and down in her stomach.

God. This could be awkward.

* * *

Hotch had been awake for about half an hour. Although laying in bed with someone sharing body heat, his back especially was still cold. They were in a small bed and the blanket didn't cover him completely. That coldness was what had woken him.

And he hadn't been able to go back to sleep. He'd relished the warmth radiating from her skin, warming his chest. The closeness of the situation overwhelmed him. He hadn't woken up next to a women since his divorce.

After a while he sensed her waking up as well. When he suddenly felt her hand stroking his arm he unconsciously moved closer and nuzzled her neck.

That's when she'd stiffened in his arms.

He heard her whispered voice after hearing her releasing her breath.

"How long have you been awake?"

Not daring to use his voice he whispered back. "A while"

"Oh"

Emily grabbed the end of the blanket to pull it a little tighter around her.

"Do you think it's morning yet?"

She felt him hum softly, the sound vibrating in his throat. "I'm not sure".

His hands left her stomach to rub his face. His fingers feeling the stubble that had formed there. The spots where his hands had been missing his warmth, the skin there already being replaced by the colder atmosphere of the room.

Emily was silent. Thinking what to do next, her mind wondering back to the plane.  
All of the sudden she turned to face him, her features etched with concern.

"Hotch, what about the others? They don't know where we are! What if they think something's happened to us. Or worse, maybe something's happened to them?!".

Panic filled her emotions. The realization of last case, the crash, the blizzard and everything else finally sinking in. Death had been around the corner and had come way too close to take away the people she loved and respected.

She hoped the rest was safe from the storm.

TBC..

* * *

_AN: So basicall__y I had two ways to go on this.. One with them starting 'something' and the other with keeping things a little bit awkward and nothing really happening (yet). For the sake of this story I'm going with the latter. But…. I couldn't help myself and wrote something which I think is going to make some of you quite happy ;) I'll post it separate from this story._

_My mind has gone blank at this point, because I haven't slept well last night so I stopped writing this chapter a little earlier than I wanted. (I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open while writing this lol..) Still, didn't want to keep you waiting after all this time, so I decided to post it anyways. (alongside the alternate chapter). Can't believe it's been over a month since I last updated this._

_Please let me know what you think and leave a review! I'm happy with all the feedback I can get and am also open to suggestions! So please don't hesitate to contact me if you want to!_


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N; Last chapter of 2009! _

_Thanks for the reviews ones again! It is so nice to hear all your opinions and truly means a lot to me__. Glad the alternate chapter was received with lots of love!_

_ This is a short chapter with a lot of Garcia and short pieces to tie some ends together and get me going somewhere for future chapters. More H/P will be up next I promise. Most of this was written while traveling by train btw (I think I'm going to do that more often, it's so hard to find time to write these days..) _

_I hope you all have had a wonderful 2009 and are going to have a great 2010! Times goes by so fast, doesn't it? What are your new year's resolutions? _

_A couple of hours early but: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! _

_**  
Disclaimer: Still as it is the last day of 2009 today.. I do not own them.**_

* * *

Braced with a stack of files, Garcia had all the information she could muster about the missing plane her colleagues had been on.

She was mumbling to herself "Date of departure.. time of departure.. pilots check, check, double check. Yes!" Walking and scrambling through the files she was on her way to see chief Strauss.

--

Garcia´s worry had already increased when she found out the plane had indeed left the Alaskan airport and was now nowhere to be found. Her worrying now became more intense as time went on and her nerves swerved around in her stomach. All possible worst case scenarios going through her head.. no she had to stay positive she thought to herself. No need to jump to conclusions just yet. She felt a shiver going up her spine.

After filing in chief Strauss on the matter a search party had been called to life to look for the missing plane plus team. Now the colorful blonde was at the Anchorage police department. The detectives who´d worked the case with the BAU were now on duty to find the agents they´d worked with a day earlier.

A black haired officer with graying sides was in charge of the search. His name was detective Andrew MacIntyre. Garcia remembered that from the brief contact she´d had with him while working the case previous to her missing lovelies. A nice, but stern officer who´d been with the station for over twenty years. Someone with a lot of field experience. His team was more than willing to help.

Seated with small room full of detectives, the man looked at her expectantly.

"The plane can't have gone off radar for no reason. Can you fill us in on what you've found out already Special Agent Garcia?"

Penelope moved to stand, no notepad or files necessary to tell them what she'd discovered. She might be a computer kinda girl, but her memory never ever failed her. A memory as an elephant as her high school friends would have called it. No detail escaped her perception, which had been somewhat amusing, but also very annoying for the friends in her teens. Tell Penelope something and she could haunt you with it for years after.

"The jet with SSA Hotchners team left the airport at approximately 6.30am last morning. Apparently an administration mix-up didn't registrate the incoming flight for Virginia. Last contact with the plane has been around 8.45am the same day…"

A waterfall of words leaving her mouth in a matter of seconds as she quickly told the officers all she knew.

After assigning his colleagues specific tasks and as the officers left to do their jobs, detective MacIntyre stopped by where Penelope was still standing.

"Don't worry, we'll find them", he reassured her before leaving himself.

She looked at the door where the detective just left her sight. "I hope we do".

----

_At the plane.._

They had shielded the gap near the cockpit with branches to keep the snow and cold out. It had helped a little, but there was still a small pile of snow forming at the entrance.

"Come on damnit WORK!!" After trying endless time Derek was starting to lose his temper. Banging his fist on one of the seats, before sitting down and drawing his knees up his chest. Reid was looking at him over his shoulder, a scared expression on his face. He had been working on the radio, but still hadn't been able to get it to work. Silently he turned and continued his repairs.

JJ had been sitting with Dave when she heard the sudden outburst. She moved up to where Reid and Morgan were.

"Morgan, hey try relax okay? Getting angry is not going to help".

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He merely nodded.

"Hey guys I think I'm getting it to work here!"

---

_Somewhere in the woods.._

Trying the door handle Hotch noticed it wouldn't move. The temperature in the cabin was still considerably low. Their clothes hadn´t dried yet, which had them covering themselves in the blankets they´d slept under. Emily was sitting on the bed, holding the sheet tightly around her.

"I think we're stuck"

"Hotch..?"

He tried pulling the door. Snow was starting to fall in the small space so he quickly pushed to close door again.

Emily moved to help him.

"We're snowed in"

This was just great.

* * *

_A/N: Have you noticed the cliffies here? ;)_


	10. Chapter 10

_A special thank you goes to JirrG, Anonymous, ickleails, Hotchfan, sarramaks, Cloverdaze, lalixa, JenRar and jazmingirl for reviewing last chapter! My apologies for taking so long to update. It took me a while to get this story going again, but now I seem to be going good inspiration wise and next chapter is already in the making. Hoping it will stay that way and that you'll have a happy time reading. _

_This story is unbeta'd btw, so all mistakes, spelling errors etc.. are mine. For LJ-users; updates will also __be placed on my LJ (the link is on my ff profile). _

_**And of course I still don't own Criminal Minds and all its characters. **_

_**

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**_

The white clock at the station seemed to be ticking more slowly than time would normally pass by. As she sat on a desk of one of the officers the ticking sound was doing crazy things to her nerves. It was driving her crazy, so she tried to concentrate harder on the computer in front of her to ignore it.

"Agent Garcia? There's a man on the phone from the contact tower at the airport." Garcia hurriedly moved to where the desk clerk was sitting behind her desk . Would there be information so soon already? It felt odd in a way. The detectives had only left about twenty minutes ago. She hoped it was a good sign that someone contacted her after such a short amount of time.

"Thank you," she said, stopping to pick up the phone. "Penelope Garcia speaking."

"_Agent Garcia? A couple of minutes ago we__ received contact by what appears to be the missing FBI plane. We established short contact and were able to mark the area the plane is in now. I'm sorry to say that we don't have the exact location, but do know the area they're in."_

A feeling of relief came over her, releasing some of the tension she had been experiencing. This was really good news.

* * *

He felt slightly agitated. A lack of sleep depriving him from seeing the positivity in the situation. Reid had gotten the radio to work for a couple of minutes. Having established short radio contact, without being able to actually give answer to the man on the other side of the line. It was obvious the contact tower had found out something was wrong already, but Morgan couldn't be happy about that yet. He wanted all of them to be found first, be safe and sound and then was the time to be happy and relieved.

He looked around to see Reid talking to Rossi excitedly. Probably about recent events. The younger man could have such a childlike air around him sometimes. It was good that he was able to fix the radio and had gotten his hopes up because of it. So easily. Derek sighed. He had sat himself in the back of the plane. Headphones on again, singling himself out for a moment alone. Away from the hopefulness that seemed to be going through the rest of the teams heads.

Looking to his side he noticed JJ sitting by herself as well. A pensive look on her face. His best guess was that she's thinking about the two people she left at Quantico. She must have a hard time being away like this from her son. Will and the baby boy both wouldn't have any idea where she was and if she would be alright. Knowing she was so excited and hopeful after the short radio contact, he felt slightly guilty for thinking so pessimistic himself. Having turned his own expectations down on purpose.

The storm outside had seemed to have calmed down a little. There still was snow blowing around the body of the plane, but the sound of the wind had gotten less 'stormy' in the past hour. He had an inkling if he wanted to go look for Hotch and Emily that the team would hold him back again. So he decided he kept himself quiet until the weather got more reasonable. He knew the rest were worried about them too, but it was safer to wait till the storm had calmed down completely of course. He hoped that moment would come soon. Keeping his emotions at bay, he shifted his attention back to his music.

* * *

Emily was sitting up in the bed with her head in her hands. Strands of hair falling through her fingers. This all seemed like a dream gone completely wrong. Being stuck with her boss in a small cabin, while being half naked, was like one of those dreams where you're walking through the mall and realizing you're still in your PJ's.

Her skin felt like ice, even with the blanket wrapped around her. If she was completely honest the reality she found herself in could have been worse. Like being outside, cold, miserable and alone. Of course being in a cabin, while still cold, but with company was a slightly better situation. That thought made her feel a little better.

"There really is no way out right now, isn't there," she softly declared.

Hotch, who had been moving around the small space looking for a way out. He had been checking the ceiling to see if he could break through to provide an exit for them. His attempts had been of no avail. Without the right tools they were stuck in here.

Emily had given up on creating a make shift exit a little before Hotch did. Already feeling the unhelpfulness of the situation here.

Hotch turned around to face her. He too still had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Covering his upper body mostly. Emily didn't dare to look at his legs. Instead she concentrated on his face.

"Well, I think we should try again in a while. There's a good chance the snow will be frozen enough to not delve us in. If we're lucky we should be able to dig ourselves out. The snow is still too soft for that. Knowing how high the snow had been when we came in here, I'm guessing it's up to the roof right now," he moved over to the bed again and sat next to her, "We'll just have to wait it out for a while."

Emily looked at her hands. Fingers playing around with the material of her sheet. "Yeah, I guess we should."

"We will get out of here eventually you know. You won't be stuck with me for the rest of your life," Hotch said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Emily smiled a little at this. The man had a sense of humor when he wanted too. She was glad that he was letting himself be like that with her. Not many people knew that side of him, only seeing the ever stoic mask. He had to be the serious leader, she knew that. She also knew the BAU changed people. Heck, she herself had changed through the years she worked there.

Who wouldn't after seeing everything they did on a daily basis.

"Let's hope not," she joked. "Because being in this dusty, old place doesn't do a person good. It's too dark, the bed is dirty and it smells bad in here." Hotch's attempt to bring a change of atmosphere did wonders to her current state of mind.

The person who built this place certainly hadn't thought of any aspects regarding basic architecture. There were no windows at all. The only light in the cabin came from the small flame in the stove, which was still burning.

Hotch pretended to mock glare at her. Emily grinned. "No offense Hotch."

She noticed his dimples showing in the dim light. "None taken."


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Phew, glad that this one is done! My head is cooking at the moment and I __couldn't squeeze more out of it__. I have the flu and it really is making my brain go crazy lol. Hope this chapter doesn't feel all too weird to all of you. Thanks so much for the reviews on last chapter; gemus, jirrG, JenRar, story-untold15, TML, jessalynnGSR, sarramaks and Benson14 you rock! You really keep me going on this :) Thank you for that.  
_

_I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well. Feedback is very much appreciated.  
_

**Disclaimer: I do not own them.**

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They had been talking for a while. He didn't know exactly how long it had been since they'd started conversation. Talking about all kinds of random stuff. Things that had nothing related to the place they were in. Sitting next to each other on the bed against the headboard. Shoulders touching with the both of them wrapped in their own sheet.

He thoroughly enjoyed talking to her. Getting to know more about her personal life. Discovering more than he already knew. Her favorite music and TV-shows when she was a kid. Some of that music he knew and some of the shows he didn´t, those being influenced by the different places she'd lived in. He liked knowing the last movie she'd went to and her take on it, thinking of a different ending. A nicer and better one in her opinion. He'd smiled at the enthusiasm in which she told those stories. In the end actually getting an actual laugh out of him. It´d been a while since someone had made him laugh like this.

They had laughed together.

It'd felt enlightening. Her presence. It made him forget to worry about his home front without feeling guilty about it. Not feeling the emotions linked with their hectic situation, but different emotions taking over his being.  
He wouldn't think what he would do if he was in this situation by himself. Probably going crazy after a while. They had to keep each other on their feet mentally and physically to get out of this alright.

Both had been silent now for a moment. The crash and the cold hadn't done their bodies any good. He took a deep breath and a faint pain greeted him. He hissed. Yep, still tender.

He'd seen the damage of the impact on his skin when he'd taken of his shirt earlier. A slightly darker coloring visible where his seatbelt had been. He'd ignored it. The cold from earlier had numbed it a bit, making it easier to push the pain away. Feeling Emily's gaze on his face, Hotch turned his head to look back at her. The gash on her forehead prominently visible against her pale skin.

He was looking at her intently, half expecting Emily to look away. But she didn't. She seemed as concerned about him as he was about her. She'd heard and felt the sharp intake of breath and noticed his discomfort while doing so. Now looking in his eyes to try and figure out how he was coping. Hotch lifted his hand upward after what felt like minutes and broke the silence.

"How's the head?" he said, his hand touching the outlines of the small wound.

She huffed. "Hotch, please don't go there again."

His thumb started caressing her forehead ever so lightly. Not wanting to cause her any pain. "Does it hurt still?"

At his question she felt something snap inside of her. Obviously he wasn't feeling all that well himself and he was asking – again - how _she _was?! Although she appreciated him showing his concern for her, he'd asked that question one time too many already the past two days. Or.. was it two days? She wasn't sure how long it had been since they'd gotten stuck in this god damn forest.

She felt his hand break the contact it had with her skin. She didn't know how to feel anymore. They were stuck. She didn't like feeling helpless. Waiting had never been her favorite thing. She didn't know how to handle the uncertainty of it all. Not knowing if the rest of the team was okay and if they were going to be alright. She wanted to get the hell out of this place. It felt like she'd lost all control. Having gone through a rollercoaster of emotions in her head she seemed to have gone past the 'cheerful' stage she had been in earlier and has come to a stop near the 'annoyed' platform. Irritation rushing through her being. All of what was going on had had sunk through her nerves, impacting it full force.

"And how are _you_ feeling exactly Hotch?! Don't think I don't know you're hiding your pain. Just because it isn't a very visible scratch on the head doesn't mean I don't know that you are hurting." She wasn't even shocked at the way she spat the words out. "Do not ask me again how I'm feeling. I'll tell you when I'm not alright and I expect you to do the same." There it was. Some form of control in her uncontrolled state. She breathed heavily, pausing for a moment.

Hotch looked at her dumfounded. Not having expected the sudden change in her demeanor. A complete contrast to how they had been talking earlier. Emily Prentiss never lost her way like this, so oblivious to everything around her. All his good intentions had gone right through the roof the moment he'd asked her the question. He'd wanted to make sure she felt alright and also to reassure himself. That was what he'd wanted to do. Not get her pissed off. Obviously he'd made a small misjudgment.

"Emily, I think.."

Interrupting him mid-sentence, Emily continued her rant. Her voice still portraying her unstable, but explosive emotions. "I expect you to do the same, but you never do Hotch. Don't you understand that? You need to express yourself more, but you always hold back so much of yourself."

"Emily.." Hotch tried again. Her hands were putting emphasis on what she was trying to say by making frantic gestures.

"Even more so when you're hurting. I've seen it before, but what good does that do? I don't get it Hotch. I don't. I just want you to.."

Her voice faded when his hands grabbed hold of hers, stilling them in the process. She looked at him directly, an understanding reached between two pairs of eyes. Pot meeting kettle in a way. With a shock she realized her words were true for herself as well. She'd done exactly the same as what she'd accused him of.

Because was she okay right now? Did she tell him she wasn't? No, she'd pushed it all away. Just like what he'd done in this situation. They were alike in so many ways. Holding back, focusing on other things instead. Now it came bubbling to the surface and she was pulling him back in reality as well by losing it like this.

Or had he already been back in reality?

He'd been the one who started opening up to her more lately. He had been openly concerned about her state of health. He'd been showing more of himself to her and she was still letting her bottled up emotions get ahead of her. Running in front of her while she was still more in the past with her head. Sticking with the image she'd had of him before. But he'd changed around her. He had. And she was throwing all this in his face at the moment. Her own words should've been meant for her more than it would've been for him she realized.

The emotional rollercoaster she found herself in moving on again to a new platform.

She started to feel like an idiot.

Especially more so when she felt his arms come around her. Pulling her on his chest and softly whispering reassurances in her ear. Telling her it was okay. That it was all going to be okay.

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JJ pulled her blanket a little tighter around her. She couldn't get Henry and Will out of her head. She wanted to hold them close. To feel Henry's little chubby arms around her neck and to kiss his soft, round cheeks. She missed his smell. The sweet smell that all babies seemed to carry around. If there would be a baby-smell perfume she would have long gone bought it. Yeah, she decided that next case she was going to take one of his little shirts with her. His picture was always in her wallet, but a shirt with his smell would be more of a comfort. That way more of her senses would be attuned to him when he wasn't around.

She was sure there was going to be a next case. Even if it felt like they were the case themselves at the moment. Some strange force putting them where they were right now. It had to be for a reason right? JJ didn't believe in coincidents , or accidents for that matter. It all had to be part of a bigger plan.

Her and Garcia had had long talks about that.

Thinking of Penelope she smiled. The colorful analyst, godmother to Henry and one of her best friends.. she missed her cheerfulness. She could certainly need some of that right now. Penelope always cheered her up, no matter how bad she felt.

The woman was probably going crazy with worry right now. The plane had been due to land a long, long time ago. Friday morning 9.15am to be exact. As the teams liaison she always was in on those little details. Her office might be a mess, her mind was always very structured.

Reaching inside her pocket she grabbed her phone. Flipping it open she looked at the small, lit screen. Her stomach warmed at the sight of the family picture she had as a background. The smiling faces of Will, Henry and herself greeting her.

Small white letters told her it was Saturday, 10.04pm. They hadn't even been gone for two days and yet it felt like it had been so much longer.

Holding her phone in her hand, she glanced at Dave and Spencer. Dave had been holding on so well, considering his injury. Painkillers doing wonders. For both him and Reid. She thanked whatever it was that had kept them all alive. The wound on Dave's back had been cleaned the best they could and hadn't been bleeding all that badly. Though he still would need some medical attention.

All of them.. She hoped to God that all of them still were alright. The fact that they still hadn't returned worried her.

Reid's excited voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Guys, do you hear that?!"

The sound of a chopper greeted them.

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_AN2: I already have some ideas, but as this story is coming more and more to a wrap up__ (slowly), I'm curious; What is it that you want to see happen next? It would be lovely to read your thoughts!_


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